


A Memory for the Hard Times

by CelestialVoid



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Leukemia, M/M, One Shot, Pumpkin carving, Pumpkins, Short One Shot, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 23:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12518808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialVoid/pseuds/CelestialVoid
Summary: Stiles and Derek have been dealt some bad news: their son is dying. But it’s the simple moments like these that the can hold onto forever.





	A Memory for the Hard Times

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to write something for Halloween and it started out being pumpkin carving fluff but then it took a really angsty turn. Clearly, I’m not the best person to be writing Halloween fics.

Derek’s hands moved with an absent-minded familiarity, the tip of the thick black marker etching a design on the ridges of his canvas. He’d forgotten a long time ago what he was drawing, his mind falling numb in the peaceful trance of drawing.

He set down the parker and picked up the small knives and chisels that he usually used to whittle wood into figurines. He sunk them into the tough flesh, streams of juices running down the blade and across the hilt, staining his hands orange.

After an hour or two, he heard the front door open, a familiar voice calling out his name, but he didn’t reply; his attention was solely focused on his carving.

“Holy crap,” he heard Stiles say.

He was shaken from his trance, his eyes falling upon the carved pumpkin before him. He’d done three: one with the design of a simple face made out to look like a vampire with fangs and holes that went through the entire pumpkin so they’d light up red when the candle was lit, a second was a more detailed and realistic carving of a snarling wolf where the flesh of the pumpkin was carved away at different depths to give the illusion of shadows and fur, and finally, the one before him was a realistic illustration of Darth Vader.

“Oh,” Derek muttered. He reached for a small hand towel and cleaned the pumpkin juices off his hands before raking his fingers through his ruffled hair. HIs tired eyes were shadowed by fatigue.

Stiles seemed to notice.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I haven’t slept in three… four days…” Derek admitted, rubbing at his tired eyes.

He’d spent the last four days tossing and turning in bed or sitting by his son’s bedside, listening to his breathing and taking his pain.

“What’s on your mind?” Stiles asked, sitting down on the nearby seat and reaching out to take a hold of Derek’s hand.

“I’m worried sick,” Derek confessed. “I just… I can’t get what the doctor said out of my head.”

Stiles bowed his head. He remembered how devastated they had both been when the doctor gave them the news; how those few words had brought their whole world crashing down.

“Our son has leukemia,” Derek muttered. “And if we can’t find a compatible donor for a bone graft then…”

“We’ll find a donor,” Stiles said reassuringly. “They’re still running tests to see if I’m compatible, and even if I’m not, we’ll find someone.”

“He’s four years old, Stiles,” Derek objected. “He shouldn’t have to deal with this; it’s not fair.”

“I know,” Stiles said weakly. His eyes dropped away for a moment and Derek noticed the shadows that seeped into his sullen face. He was just as worried as Derek. After a moment, Stiles lifted his gaze again and gave Derek’s hand a gentle squeeze. “But it’s going to be okay. He’s like you; he’s a fighter. We’re going to be okay.”

Derek let out a heavy smile. He lifted his eyes to meet Stiles’ gaze, a weak smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Dad?” a small voice called from the doorway.

Stiles and Derek turned around, looking at the small boy who stood just in the hallway, rubbing at his tired eyes with his chubby fists. His hair was a tousled mess and his eyes were swollen and tired; he’d just woken up from a nap.

“You okay, Noah?” Stiles asked.

The boy nodded as he dragged his feet into the dining room, stumbling slightly as he made his way over to Derek’s side.

Derek instinctively reached out to pick him up, lifting the young boy into his lap.

Noah noticed the pumpkins, his eyes widening as a delighted smile passed over his face.

“They’re so cool!” he shrieked excitedly.

Stiles smiled, chuckling slightly as a sweet smile played across Derek’s lips.

“There’s one for each of us,” Derek explained. He pointed at the pumpkin with the carving of the wold and said, “This one’s for me…” He pointed at the Darth Vader carving and added, “This one’s for daddy…” Next was the simplistic design of a vampire; Noah’s favourite supernatural creature—much to Stiles’ distaste; Derek didn’t care, as long as his son was happy. “And this one’s for you.”

Noah bounced up and down in Derek’s lap, clapping his hand excitedly.

“Do you like it?” Stiles asked.

Noah nodded enthusiastically. “I love it! Thank you, dad!”

Derek smiled, craning his neck to kiss the crown of Noah’s head. He looked up and met Stiles’ gaze.

 _Everything’s going to be okay_ , he reminded himself. He looked down at the smile on their son’s face and felt his doubts wash away. _We’re going to be okay_.

**Author's Note:**

> And for those who are wondering, the rest of the story plotted out in my head (that will never be written) is that Stiles is compatible and their son beats leukemia. There is a happily ever after, I swear.
> 
>  
> 
> celestialvoid-fanfiction.tumblr.com


End file.
